Top Health Official: Sugar the Most Dangerous Drug Available

Pushes to get sugar regulated like alcohol or cigarettes

A lead health official in Amsterdam is calling for sugar to be regulated much like alcohol and tobacco, calling it “the most dangerous drug of the times.”

Paul van der Velpen, the head of Amsterdam’s health service, says that in addition to it being addictive, sugar creates a desire to continue eating and blames the food industry for using it in their products to increase consumption.

“Just like alcohol and tobacco, sugar is actually a drug. There is an important role for government. The use of sugar should be discouraged. And users should be made aware of the dangers,” he wrote on an official public health website.

The senior health official wants to see sugar taxes and legal limits set on the amount that can added to processed food. He also wants cigarette-style warnings on sweets and soft drinks telling consumers that “sugar is addictive and bad for the health”.

“Whoever uses sugar wants more and more, even when they are no longer hungry,” he told the Telegraph. “Give someone eggs and he’ll stop eating at any given time. Give him cookies and he eats on even though his stomach is painful,” he argued.